


One

by Slytherclaw (Geminia905)



Category: Sagas of Sundry: Dread (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Episode 4 spoilers, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 16:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11581401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geminia905/pseuds/Slytherclaw
Summary: Sat is trying to deal with the fallout from the major event of episode 4, with varying degrees of success.  MAJOR SPOILERS





	One

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: First of all, here be MAJOR spoilers for Episode 4 of Dread. If you haven’t watched it yet, turn around now, go to Alpha, watch it, and then come back. 
> 
> Okay, now that that’s out of the way. :)
> 
> Warning: this is the longest thing I’ve written in probably a decade, so what’s here is probably all that will ever be here. For that reason, I’ve purposely left it open-ended so the reader can decide for themselves what happens next. This is based on my personal headcanon, which I’m using to enable myself to finish the series despite the events of this episode. If things go well, and the muses cooperate, I might try to write more in the future, but for now: what you see is what you get.
> 
> This has not been beta read, as none of my betas watch the show, unfortunately.

God, her eyes hurt.

Sat rubbed her eyes for what seemed the millionth time.  At least she didn’t have to worry about looking like a raccoon anymore – her eye makeup had long been washed away beneath the seemingly endless stream of tears she’d shed since Tanner…

No.  Mustn’t think about that.  If she thought about it, she’d never get to sleep.  

Sleep was hard enough to come by with Raina’s sniffles across the way and Darby’s constant mumbling.  The only one not making a sound was Kayden – and his silence was practically deafening.

He may have been fooling the other girls with his seemingly cold exterior; they may believe that Tanner’s death hadn’t torn his heart in two, but she knew better.  He was her best friend, after all.

A sad smile flitted briefly across her lips, but disappeared almost as fast.  That had been a bane of contention between the two young men for years:  Kayden was her best friend…and she was Tanner’s.  

She loved Tanner dearly, but Kayden understood things about her that Tanner, through no fault of his own, never could.

No matter how much she assured Tanner that Kayden was no threat to their friendship, it was clear he feared Kayden would one day steal her away.

Of course, there was another reason for the constant tension between them, even though neither would admit it to anyone – least of all themselves.

Kayden took great delight in getting under Tanner’s skin and would go out of his way to poke and prod until he got a reaction.  It was like the tales her grandmother used to tell of her future husband dipping her pigtails in an inkwell when they were in grade school together.

She knew Tanner secretly enjoyed the other boy’s attention, no matter how frustrating or infuriating his actions may be.  There was no way he’d show any reciprocation, though.  Not after the beating he’d taken after some of his father’s coworkers teased him about his ‘fairy son’ when Tanner dared wear a frilly shirt and a bit of eye makeup to an after-school dance.  

That had been her idea.  She still felt guilty – and a bit homicidal – when she thought of the bruises Tanner had tried to hide for a week afterward.

Her idea – just like this camping trip.  Dammit.  First she got him beaten up, now she got him…

_ “I love you, Sat.” _

_ “Run!” _

_ “Remember first grade.” _

_ “One.” _

_ “Run!” _

_ Screams.  Rocks falling.  His arm reaching out from the waves of undead that are swallowing him up, tearing chunks from his previously unmarred flesh, as a skeletal hand wraps around his head and…. _

“No!” She was vaguely aware of the other three jumping in alarm as she shouted and got to her feet, but she paid them no mind. Wrapping her arms around herself, she began rapidly pacing in front of the fire.

“Sat,” Raina said softly. “You have to get some rest.  You’re going to make yourself sick.  It won’t help…” Her quiet voice trailed off.

“You think I don’t know that?” Sat snapped back.  “Every time I close my eyes I see him being torn apart by those…things!  He saved me – he saved all of us – and we just left him…”  Her voice broke on the last word and the sobs she’d been keeping at bay for the last few hours returned with a vengeance. 

“Goddamn it, Sat!” Kayden’s hands were suddenly on her shoulders, giving her a none-too-gentle shake. “Calm the fuck down! This isn’t the time or place for a fucking meltdown!” His fingers dug painfully into her flesh and she was dimly aware, as she began to calm despite herself, that there would soon be bruises in their place. “There was nothing we could do.” He finished in a softer tone, with just the slightest of trembles to the words.

“You keep telling yourself that and maybe someday you’ll believe it,” she hissed, pulling away from his grip and moving back a few feet. “We were too busy worrying about our own necks.” She gestured angrily from herself to each of the others in turn.  “That bow was shit.  He could barely fire it and there was no way it was going to stop even one of those things.  We should’ve grabbed him after the first try and made him dig with us.  Hell, throwing the rocks we were pulling out would’ve been more effective than him trying to use that damn bow!”

As quickly as the burst of anger had come, it died away and she collapsed weakly onto a nearby log.  “He was our friend and we just let those things tear him apart without even trying to save him.”  She buried her face in her hands.  “I can still see him reaching out to me at the end.”  Drawing her hands back, her eyes fell to the small mark on her forearm: a circle with a line through it; a promise to never take them camping again.

_ “One.” _

_ “Remember: first grade.” _

_ Small flint knife carving a number in flesh. _

_ “Run!” _

_ An arm reaching toward her as skeletal fingers tore at previously unmarred flesh… _

_ “One.” _

_ Flesh which should’ve had a number carved in it. _

Her eyes widened and she looked back to Kayden, a spark of hope flaring in her chest.  “Oh my god.”

“What now?” Kayden sighed, clearly exasperated.

“It wasn’t him.”

“Sat…”

“No! Shut up and listen!” She waved her arm in his face.  “The marks!  I saw him reaching for me, but there was no mark on his arm!” She let out a hysterical little giggle. “I came up with the stupid idea in the first place and completely forgot about them when it counted!”

Each of the others reflexively pulled back their sleeves to stare at their own marks.

“Don’t you see?” Sat was practically bouncing now. “It wasn’t him! We didn’t see Tanner die, it was an illusion or a hallucination or something – just like those ones we saw last year!  He could still be alive. We have to go back. Now!”

**Author's Note:**

> As I am officially considering this AU, I have taken some liberties with character backstory and some episode dialogue has been tweaked ever so slightly.


End file.
